


taking a break

by fouralarmfire



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: (except it's not a first date? but it kind of is), Canon Compliant, F/F, First Dates, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, Season/Series 03, set somewhere between MAG 92-98, yeah - Freeform, you ever remember how basira & melanie canonically regularly go out for drinks together?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 23:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17375453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fouralarmfire/pseuds/fouralarmfire
Summary: There’s really no better time for making friends with your co-workers than when you know none of you will ever be allowed to leave.or, Melanie asks Basira out for drinks.





	taking a break

**Author's Note:**

> i finally finished writing this fic i started 2 months ago just so i could put off starting season 4 a little while longer bc i am Worried about them.
> 
> rated T for mild swearing and some mentions of violence that happened in canon, but this is really just basira & melanie & the beginning of a beautiful friendship (with some early-stage crushing thrown in because i am but a simple lesbian)
> 
> canon-compliant other than me vaguely mentioning the Break Room Milk Incident, which happened a year earlier in canon, just because i'm too confused about what that could have meant to _not_ want to include it in whatever tma fic i'll ever write. let's just say there was a second incident, and this fic is canon-compliant again.

Melanie is getting kind of sick of reading about war ghosts. This is her third trip up to the Institute library today, and with each one she's feeling less and less hopeful. The previous books haven’t been able to shed more light on the situation than “there’s some violent ghosts on old battlefields”, which, yeah, Melanie is well aware. Been there, done that, got the gunshot wound, and all that. Still. There has to be some solution to the pain she still occasionally feels pulsing in her leg, despite the lack of a bullet in there. There has to be some solution to the _anger_ she feels, so much more frequently than she used to. And so she sighs and grabs yet another book from the _hauntings: battlefield_ section.

She’s just about to head back to her desk when she notices she’s not alone in the library. Basira, the new assistant (hostage?) is reading in a chair at the far end of the shelves. Melanie hasn’t seen her around much, although, to be fair, she also hasn’t been looking. A couple of weeks ago she would have been thrilled at the prospect of another woman coming to work in the Archives, or even just anyone who she might have a regular conversation with. Then again, a couple of weeks ago she also hadn’t known just how accurate all of Tim’s ominous comments about the dangers of being here had been. She’s grown a lot more understanding towards the lack of a warm reception she had received when she herself had come to work at the Archives.

Still, that understanding doesn’t mean she’s forgiven the other assistants for being, to put it delicately, complete dicks. And she definitely hasn't forgotten how much it sucked to have them treat her like they didn’t want her there. She doesn’t want Basira to go through the same isolation she went through, which probably means talking to her eventually. Socialising hasn’t really been a priority since she found out she is apparently trapped here forever, although, thinking about it, there’s really no better time for making friends with your co-workers than when you know none of you will ever be allowed to leave.

It is with that thought in mind that she makes her way over to where Basira is sitting. The book is apparently absorbing enough that Basira doesn’t seem to notice the approaching footsteps, and she only looks up when Melanie awkwardly clears her throat.

“Um. Hi.”

“Hi? Did you need this book?” Basira asks her.

“No, I just… wanted to see how you were holding up?” Okay, so maybe Melanie has sort of let her small-talking skills rust over, between the dramatic exit from her previous job and the disconnect from her co-workers here. Basira seems pleasantly surprised, though, and smiles up at her.

“Oh! I’m okay. I mean, obviously being trapped here as collateral for the rest of my life so my partner doesn’t kill our evil boss isn’t ideal, but I didn’t have access to a giant library back at the police station, so. It’s a mixed bag.”

Melanie lets out a startled laugh at that. “I admire the optimism,” she says.

“Less optimism, more… acceptance,” Basira replies. “If I’m gonna be stuck here, I might as well make the most of it, you know?”

“Is that why you dragged the most comfortable chair from the break room out here?”

Basira smiles at her. “Needed a change of atmosphere. Didn’t really feel safe, having books in the break room after that whole thing with the milk and-”

“Oh God, don’t remind me.”

“Anyway, I was looking for a quiet place to read. I didn't get my own desk, and I feel weird just taking one of yours when you're away from it. It’s not like I really need a desk all that much, I mostly just read."

"Oh. Well, if you ever decide you do need one, you're welcome to mine. I'll take any excuse to take a break.”

"I mean, it’s not like you really need an excuse, right?"

Melanie gives her a confused look.

"I mean, I’ve just sort of been doing whatever I feel like doing cause I’m more of a hostage than an employee anyway? But you guys might as well be hostages, too, from what I could make out from Elias's whole spiel,” Basira explains.

Hm. That is... an interesting thought.

“You know what? You’re right,” Melanie says decidedly. “Let’s just get out of here.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m done in an hour anyway, and Elias is apparently incapable of firing me, and I am bored out of my mind, so let’s just get out of here.” Melanie is growing more enthusiastic about this plan the longer she thinks about it. “I’ll just drop off this book on my desk; I’ll get to it tomorrow. And you can leave your book on my desk as well, if you want? To make sure no one else claims it while you’re gone? And then we can head out, go and get something cool to drink, because, honestly, they really need to ventilate this place more, it is getting _uncomfortably_ warm.” She pauses. “Wait, do you drink?”

Basira is looking a bit overwhelmed, processing the verbal waterfall, and Melanie worries that maybe she's made her uncomfortable, that maybe Basira thought she was asking her out. Which, not that she wouldn't, because Basira is very cute and Melanie is very bi, but-  She puts that thought out of her mind. She's not about to ruin her chance at making a friend here with something as ill-advised as a _workplace crush_ , of all things.

Then Basira smiles widely at her, her warm brown eyes crinkling, and _shit_ , Melanie is going to have to put a lot more effort into keeping that thought out. It doesn't seem so bad, though, the way her chest warms when Basira finally replies: “I don't drink alcohol, no, but I could do with an ice tea.”

 

That is how, ten minutes later, they end up in a pub a couple blocks away from the Institute. Melanie walks back to the table Basira has claimed for them and hands her one of the ice teas she’s carried over. The way Basira's hand brushes hers when she takes it with a soft "thanks" probably isn't deliberate.

Basira waits until Melanie is seated and then asks: “So, what was that book you came to the library for?”

“Oh, um, _Phantom Gettysburg_ ,” Melanie answers.

“Phantom, like, ghosts?”

“Civil war ghosts, yeah.” Melanie debates telling Basira about India, getting shot, the sudden bursts of anger ever since then, but decides against it. Probably not a first date type of conversation. Not that that’s what this is, but-. “It’s research for a statement,” she says instead. And then, to prevent any follow-up questions, she asks, “How about you?”

If Basira notices the deflection, she doesn’t mention it. “Oh, I’ve been reading up on occult symbolism, it’s actually pretty interesting.”

“Was that related to a statement, or…?”

“Oh, no, recreational. Well, I mean, partly. I also think it might be helpful to be able to identify symbols like that more quickly, if we come across anything? To know what we’re dealing with.” Melanie nods her approval. “Besides, I don’t know, I'm more comfortable with books than with the statements. Like, it’s one thing to read about creepy stuff happening in a book, but the statements feel too… close to home, I guess? I listened to a couple of the recorded ones when I first got here last week, to see what I’d gotten into, but they are _not_ my thing. Until I get told explicitly to start recording statements of my own, I think I’ll stick to the books.”

"Well, if you ever do end up recording a statement, let me know. I’ve already done it once, so I can give you _all_ the professional advice you need,” Melanie jokes.

Basira snorts. "Just yell “marker” and then clap, right?"

"Hey, don't make fun of that!" Melanie tries to sound stern but she's smiling. "You're just jealous of all the television know-how I'm bringing into the Archives.”

"Not making fun, I promise. It’s cute.”  Melanie feels her face heat up. "Anyway,” Basira goes on, unaware, "wasn’t that more of a YouTube series?"

"Wait, you watched _Ghost Hunt UK_?"

"No, I just..." Basira seems vaguely embarrassed. "I might have googled you."

Melanie laughs at that. "That's fair, might as well get to know your fellow prisoners. If there was ever an excuse to do some Facebook stalking…”

“Exactly! Besides, I can’t just give up on years of police training. I have to _investigate_.” Melanie finds herself charmed by the way Basira’s eyes light up excitedly when she says this.

“Well then, Miss Investigator, why don’t you tell me about all the intel you've gathered?"

 

Basira grins and tells her about the more embarrassing stories on Tim's Facebook wall, as well as some online poetry she's found that she's pretty sure traces back to Martin. When they get bored with office gossip, they talk about their former jobs. Basira tells her about the more fun cases she and her partner have solved in her years as a cop (her partner being Daisy, the woman who had pulled a gun on Elias and become Melanie’s personal hero). Melanie in turn shares stories from the old ghost hunter days, back before she’d found out the hard way that some ghosts were more interested in hunting _her_ than the other way around. By the time Melanie’s story about a supposedly haunted library turns into them discussing their favourite books, it’s gotten to be late enough that they decide to just order some food as well.

They have more fun together than Melanie could have hoped for given the circumstances of their meeting. There’s something about letting go of her stress like she hasn’t done since she saw a woman staple her own arm back together that makes her feel giddy, and she guesses Basira feels much the same. Well, the arm-stapling seems a bit too specific, but Basira’s also given a statement, and Melanie knows what that does to your life. Basira had struck her as a rather dignified person since they first met, but it seems she's not above letting Melanie goad her into competitions to see who can best aim chips into the other's mouth (Basira wins), or laughing so hard that she falls out of her chair and dragging Melanie with her on her way down. It's all so dumb and normal and _wonderful_ that Melanie finds herself smiling more than she has in months. She’s constantly torn between feeling happy that Basira is the person who ended up getting stuck in this mess with her, and then feeling guilty about feeling happy that Basira got stuck at all.

By the time they leave, it’s grown dark outside. Basira’s bus arrives a few minutes before Melanie’s, and they say their goodbyes before she gets on. Melanie’s never been quite clear on the whole goodbye protocol (hug? handshake? kiss on the cheek?), so she settles for a friendly pat on the arm and a "see you tomorrow". Basira’s smile seems fond rather than mocking, though, so Melanie doesn't beat herself up over her awkwardness too much.

As Basira waves at her from the bus window, Melanie smiles and waves back, feeling more hopeful than she has in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i love you! 
> 
> i'm not looking for criticism at this point, constructive or otherwise, but if you find something like a typo or a grammatical error feel free to let me know :)
> 
> Phantom Gettysburg is a real book btw, it has a total of 0 ratings on goodreads so i felt bad for it and put it in here.


End file.
